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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pit — a hole
  3. press — a publisher
  4. spring — a coil
  5. press — to push
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bass — low music
  12. spring — of water
  13. pit — in a race
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. press — newspapers
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — a match
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com